Paper… the easy medium of all disciplines, but yet so underappreciated. Paper, like humans, come in a variety of personalities and characteristics. Papers who are fancier in makeup, like vellum, or weak, like trace. But they all have memory of our doings- might it be a fold, a doodle, or scripture. No matter how many erasers we use, or how gently we sketch, paper remembers our every move, and we adjust our doings with how the paper feels with our creations. Paper has more power than we think.
The G-MEN
The Michigan G-Men hosted an astounding a cappella and sung word concert in Rackham Auditorium last Saturday. Introducing the show was the talented and quirky Midnight Book Club improv comedy group. They began the night off on a single word volunteered by an audience member; the word “banana” served as the foundation for the entire skit. From the animated personalities to the goofy transitions between acts, the group got a good laugh out of the crowd with their humor.
Following Midnight Book Club, the sharp-dressed G-Men entered stage. Each of their characters could be distinguished within the first moments of the show. They would banter with each other and us, making the audience feel as though we were all friends. They picked a slip of paper with a name on it from a collection of names in a beat up blue UM baseball hat. When a G-Man’s name was selected, he went to the microphone and introduced the next song with his own personal poem. Every single approach to the mic, to the poem, to the delivery of the poem, was unique, just like the members of the group and the talent that they offered.
Wowee those boys can sing! The goose walked over the grave after the first song as my attention was captivated by the perfect fusion of their voices. “Dust Bowl Dance” by Mumford & Sons took the listeners back in time as their voices surrounded the auditorium and transported us to a setting of the song. With “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers, they created a totally expected sound out of a hit, keeping things interesting.
In addition to their talent, they put on a great overall show. My favorite part of the show was the easygoingness of the group. If any transition or poem reading did not go flawlessly, they made fun with it. If a joke was funny, they laughed. If a joke wasn’t funny, they laughed about how it wasn’t funny and proceeded to make the best of it.
It’s incredible how one person is essential to the group as a whole. Without one G-Man, the group would be incomplete. Together, they work together to produce an incredible, layered sound
What I’m Hoping for in the Last Two Episodes of Girls
Well, there are only two episodes left of Girls, guys. I have a lot of thoughts about this season, so I thought I’d just go through some of the different characters and plot lines and share my thoughts about what I’m hoping for in the last two episodes.
Should all four girls share any more scenes together? If you’ve seen the previews for next episode, you’ll know that this one’s already settled: there will be at least one more scene (but probably most of an episode) with all four girls hanging out again.
One of the biggest accomplishments of the show—one of the things I’ve always admired most—is how brutally realistic it is about friendships, how you can feel so close with a group of friends at one age and then life can take you all in different directions until you don’t feel close with them anymore. “Beach House” in Season 3 illustrated this beautifully, and part of me thinks the show doesn’t need to revisit them all as a unit anymore. That said, it’d be nice to see them together at least one more time, if only to recreate the magic feeling that the show used to inspire when all of them bounced off each other. (I’m thinking of the aforementioned “Beach House” and “Wedding Day.”)
Should we get more scenes of Shoshanna? This one is pretty much an unqualified yes, because Shoshanna is probably the most likable of the four girls at this point, and we’ve gotten so little of her this season. That said, a lot of my friends have been deeply bothered by the lack of Shosh this season, and I don’t care quite as much as they do. Shosh has already undergone a lot of character development over the course of the series, and her time in Japan last season seemed to bring her character arc to an appropriate close, in some ways. As fun as it is to watch her onscreen, I don’t mind her reduced screen-time that much. She’s grown a lot, and I’m content to imagine her working on herself and living life happily when she’s not onscreen.
Should any of the characters be paired off romantically at the end? I think it’d be kind of refreshing if all four of the girls were single at the end of the show, just because it’d be different from most shows, where all the characters are conveniently paired off by the end. Hannah and Adam have definitely run their course, and last episode gave us some (heartbreaking) closure on that front. Marnie is done with both Desi and Ray. Part of me still wants Ray and Shoshanna to get back together, but I think Alex Karpovsky said that’s not going to happen. Besides, Ray had a lovely meet-cute with Abby last episode, so I wouldn’t mind seeing them together. Especially because there’s been so much main-cast-incest in this show that it’d be nice to end with a realistic ending of the characters actually meeting new people (or staying single).
Jessa is still with Adam, presumably, but I wouldn’t mind them breaking up, especially because they seem manic and unhealthy together, and Adam was pretty quick to drop her and go back to Hannah last episode. Surprisingly, though, if I had to root for any couple to be together, I’d probably pick them. It’d be cool to see Jessa actually caring about a monogamous relationship for once.
Can—and should—Marnie and Jessa be redeemed? The most realistic thing, I think, would be if most of the characters in this show achieved a modicum of maturity by the end, but maybe one didn’t. The obvious candidate for that is either Marnie or Jessa, who have both experienced huge character regressions over the course of the show.
I think Marnie is still somewhat redeemable, but I’m not sure about Jessa—if there’s anyone in this show I’d like to just watch suffer and fail and end up alone, it’d be her. That said, I did feel an iota of sympathy for her last episode, so I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing her end the show a little more mature and a little happier.
Still, though, I think the one main flaw with this season lies in its insistence on making Marnie and Jessa regress again and again, after last season let them be human and learn from their mistakes. Marnie, after four and a half seasons of immaturity and selfishness, spent a night with her ex-boyfriend, decisively ended her marriage to the cartoonishly awful Desi, and got back with Ray, someone who seemed to actually care about her. It was the perfect place to get rid of Desi and let Marnie be a likable person for once, but this season she’s been almost unrelentingly entitled and selfish, treating Ray like garbage and repeatedly going back to Desi. The pawn shop owner last episode finally seemed to yank her out of her cycle, but it’s too little, too late. Maybe if these next two episodes continue the upward trend, though, I’ll walk away from the show with an optimistic feeling about how Marnie’s arc has gone. Or, if they’re going to make her regress again, at least do it in a satisfying way, and show that it’s not a character inconsistency. I’m okay with showing weak-willed characters who repeatedly fail to become better people, but too often in this show, Marnie and Jessa’s characterizations have just seemed inconsistent.
As for Jessa…Season 4 was her low point. She kept doing things that were so selfish and evil that they bordered on sadistic and sociopathic, like pushing Adam and Mimi Rose together just so she could be with Ace. It was just too much. Season 5 turned that around and gave Jessa an actual reason why she was being a horrible person—sure, she was being a bad friend to Hannah by dating Adam, but at least she seemed to genuinely like him—but Season 6 has returned her to that borderline-sociopathic state. I’m not sure there’s an ending for Jessa that will completely redeem her or make up for the stuff she’s done.
Should Hannah have a baby? This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot as this season has progressed. When I learned that Hannah was pregnant, I had a lot of reservations about it. Even if Hannah is much more mature this season, and even if I believe that she’ll be a good mother, I’m kind of just sick of seeing final-season pregnancy plots. I’ve never envisioned pregnancy as the ultimate sign of maturity for Hannah; so much of the show is focused on her relationships and her writing that it seems odd to just give her a baby and use that as a sign of maturity.
And yet this season has pulled off this plot pretty damn well so far, particularly with the various characters’ surprising-yet-fitting reactions to Hannah’s news (Elijah getting pissed, Marnie reacting with shock until slowly saying, “I’m into it,” etc.). There’ve been some really emotional scenes this season based around Hannah’s pregnancy, like the gutting phone conversation between her and Paul-Louis and the argument with Elijah. I’m at the point this season where I’m willing to just wait, see where the plot goes, and trust Lena Dunham. I’ve had many moments of doubt this season, but she’s proven me wrong, so I have faith.
And really, that goes for almost everything this year. Whatever happens, I trust the show to make it good, and make it feel right. Girls isn’t a perfect show, but it’s that lack of perfection that makes it feel so real.
Delay Tactics
It seemed like a simple enough assignment. I was to write a one page cover letter for my Comparative Literature class by Tuesday morning. Yet, it was also somehow 11 pm, Monday evening, after hours of staring at the computer screen, and still not a word was written. My mind felt bloated by all the uselessness it had consumed. It seemed to me that the blank Word document was peering back into me, judging my incompetence, my weakness. It asked the same question that I kept returning to myself, “Why wasn’t I motivated to do this earlier? And what can I do about it?” But of course, by then, it was too late for those questions. It was too late to think about much at all, especially the unfinished paper sitting in front of me.
Procrastination is so restless. For me, it stems from wanting to do too much, not less. I am constantly focused on four things at once, each one more important than the last. Sometimes it feels like I am listening to multiple songs at once. All the rhythms and melodies clash, but I can’t bear to turn them off either because I don’t know when I’ll find the time to listen more carefully. Sometimes, I wish that we could have an infinite amount of time. There would be no more urgency or worry about upcoming deadlines. Most importantly, there would be no such thing as procrastination because there would be no such thing as wasted time or time at all for that matter. The tendency for delaying one task in favor of the other is a misplaced hope that we might stretch time itself to suit our desires. It is the belief that we can do everything and ignore limitations. When the night finally hits, it is a return to a disappointing reality that solemnly points out that we are simply mortal after all.
Yet, it always seems that, it would be equally disappointing not to procrastinate. A singular focus on only one task is dreadfully boring as if out of all the winding roads, one always chose the one that led straight. It is living a life dictated by the markings of a personal planner and only doing things when they are scheduled. It is not entirely our fault when things work this way. University life especially is structured around constant, unavoidable deadlines. It is too easy to live deadline to deadline and lose track of what matters. I don’t want my entire college experience to be dictated by when my essays are due. But it is also impossible to pretend that they don’t exist. Procrastination doesn’t seem to be solution to this either. The last hour before a due date is anything but relaxing. It is all an attempt to find balance between what you want and what others want of you.
Of course, I got the paper done in the end. Typing frantically without a thought for meaning or connection will typically achieve that goal. After clicking “Submit”, there was no question about what I had to do next. I opened YouTube and started watching another video.
Architecture of Study Spaces
What kind of spaces do you like to study in? An enclosed, quiet room? Or do you need to have a ton of space and some noise around you, in order to study well?? Studies say the best study areas are neat, sanitary, and have little to no noise distractions. What do you think of this claim? Share your thoughts!
Geometrical Biology
Why can’t the tentacles of an octopus sprout from the pit of a toad’s stomach? Why can’t crystalline protrusions emerge from the shell on the back of a wolf? Why can’t a raven have two heads? When I see Nicholas Di Genova’s drawings, I see the pieces of biological forms fitted together in oddly natural formations. It is not a deformity but a natural state – acceptable in its entire aesthetic hypothesis. The cellular constructs composed of bubbly units and rectangular bricks; each hair resting not as strands but as singular forms in a bunched up collective; polygonal claws; armor-like appendages; rippling hands; each segment is so uniform and flush with the rest, yet the more you stare the more distinct they become. Is this the geometry of a form? The binding of two shapes rests not in some peculiarity; a moment of chance is not the creator. It is deliberate like the block of creatures that form geometric cohesion – 10,000 vertebrates all locked and neighbors. From afar, blocks of black ink, indistinguishable, like the shapes composing the “Dirt Wolf.” But up close, distinct. The everything of the natural world of a creative mind; the hand reaches into the pit of a frog and pulls from it, a flower.
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